Enel ‘no power for crypto’ decision returns focus to proof-of-work’s energy footprint

At the start of the year, Italy’s largest utility company Enel SpA was in talks with Swiss cryptocurrency mining startup Envion to sell power from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to the crypto miner. However,the initiative backfired on Envion as Enel eventually announced it had “no interest” in selling energy for crypto production – reigniting the debate around proof-of-work’s significant energy use.